In the first few minutes of Adam Sandler's latest over-the-top comedy, his character - a smart-alecky, slightly schlumpy hotel handyman - visits his sister and belittles her departed former husband. "I wanted to give him a wedgie," says Sandler's Skeeter Bronson, "but his underwear had holes in it."

This is the moment when audiences should realize that "Bedtime Stories" neuters Sandler's instincts for cutting-edge performance. Instead of crude jokes ("I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry"), amusing physicality ("You Don't Mess With the Zohan") or even nuanced acting ("Reign Over Me"), we get Sandler in a kind of slow motion. He still moves quickly - riding horses, chariots and motorcycles with wild abandon - but his persona is restrained in "Bedtime Stories," as if he'd taken a Prozac before stepping in front of the camera.

Is this a bad thing? Not necessarily - especially if you're between 6 and 10 years old, or the parent of such children, who appear to be the target audience of this Walt Disney production. The story line is Disney to the core: Skeeter is an underappreciated figure who - like Cinderella - has been misjudged by close relations, then gets a big chance to ascend the social and economic ladder. His opportunity comes when the hotel's wealthy magnate, Barry Nottingham (Richard Griffiths from "The History Boys" and "Harry Potter" films), offers him a chance to run the business - provided he can think up a new theme for the hotel. Skeeter's plan, though, must top that of a rival hotel employee, the snobby, perfectly coiffed Kendall, played with delightful campiness by Guy Pearce.

The tragic backstory is that Bronson's dad, Marty (Jonathan Pryce), once owned the hotel, but poor management forced him to sell to the opportunistic Nottingham. Skeeter's shot at redemption coincides with a weeklong assignment to look after the two children of his sister, Wendy (Courteney Cox). Skeeter tells them bedtime stories about cowboys, gladiators and space fighters that end up foretelling real events in his life. The stage is then set for a series of wild, mildly amusing and utterly implausible events - including, of course, love.

Coming in the same year as "You Don't Mess With the Zohan" (now out on an unrated DVD, complete with scenes of Sandler ensconced in the flesh of older women), "Bedtime Stories" seems like an odd appendix to Sandler's career. But Sandler who's been in the public eye for two decades, is now a 42-year-old father, with a 2-year-old and infant, and he said recently, "I wanted to make a movie that my (offspring) could watch someday and actually look me in the eyes afterwards."

Whether "Bedtime Stories" is that movie is open to debate. As they get older, Sandler's children may see their dad's newest flick for what it really is - a big-budget film that's full of sophomoric humor (such as horse farts and an angry midget) and fantastical special effects that imagine all the main characters in different time periods (from the Roman era to a Space Age future).

Still, "Bedtime Stories" is a fun bit of escapism that's even tender in spots, especially when the children whom Sandler reads to are onscreen. In one scene, for example, Skeeter's niece - cute, big-eyed Laura Ann Kesling - changes the ending of his story about "Sir Fixalot" from one of cynicism to one of hope. The bedtime stories change Skeeter's more than he ever imagined, though we still get a slice of the Sandler who first made it big on "Saturday Night Live."

"I'm like the stink on your feet," he tells the kids, a faint smirk on his face. "I'll always be around."

For prepubescent kids, "Bedtime Stories" will be a perfectly enjoyable work - a PG-rated introduction to a heralded comic actor trying to inspire a new generation of Adam Sandler fans.